1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solvent container with a means for communicating with a drug vial. More particularly, it relates to a solvent container containing a solvent and having a means for communicating with a drug vial containing a dry drug adapted to be mixed with the solvent just before use to administrate it as a liquid medicine to a patient.
2. Description of the Background Art
In medical facilities such as hospitals, dry drugs contained in a drug container or vial have been used for intravenous drip by dissolving it in a suitable solvent such as distilled water, a physiological saline, a glucose solution or a solution of an other drug.
In order to simplify such operations, there have been proposed, for example, in JP-T- S61-501129, JP-A- H2-1277 and JP-U- S63-135642 (Japanese Utility Model), various drug delivery systems of the kind wherein a capsule including a drug vial therein is connected in series with a flexible container containing a dose of a solvent and adapted to allow the drug vial to aseptically communicate the flexible container just before use.
JP-T- S61-501129, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No 4,583,971, discloses a closed drug delivery system comprising a flexible container having a liquid diluent therein, a capsule coupled to the flexible container, a drug vial having a drug therein adapted to be mixed with the diluent, said drug vial being supported in the capsule by a supporting means of the capsule, and a coupling means for coupling the capsule to the interior of the flexible container. In this system, the drug vial is communicated with the flexible container by a communicating means arranged in the coupling means, thus making it possible to aseptically mix the drug with the solvent.
JP-A- H2-1277, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,841, discloses a fluid container comprising a flexible container containing a diluent, a capsule having a cylindrical connecting portion at its one end and being connected to a mouth of the flexible container at the connecting portion, a drug container held in the capsule, and a communicating member for communicating the flexible container with the drug container. In use, the communicating means is firstly pierced into the drug vial and then pierced into the flexible container to communicate the flexible container with the drug container. Since the flexible container is communicated with the drug container in the closed system, it is possible to aseptically mix the drug with the solvent.
JP-U- S63-135642 discloses a drug delivery system comprising a solvent container containing a diluent therein, a drug container or vial containing a dry drug and arranged in series with the flexible container, and a double pointed hollow needle slidably supported by a ring removably arranged in the drug container, the hollow needle being adapted to be pierced at one end into a rubber stopper of the drug container and at the other end into a rubber plug of the flexible container to aseptically connect two containers just before use.
All the above drug delivery systems of the prior art may be applied for various vials on the market. However, the drug delivery system of JP-T- S61-501129 requires a great number of different parts and makes it troublesome to open the passage between the vial and the diluent container as the opening of the passage is carried out by manually breaking a frangible member arranged between the vial and the diluent container. In addition, if the frangible member is broken defectively, a flow of the solvent is prevented because of a defective fracture of the frangible member, resulting in increase in a time for dissolving the drug in the solvent.
The drug delivery system of JP-A- H2-1277 has been improved in protection from contamination by foreign substances and in simplification of operations, as compared with that of JP-T- S61-501129. However, it also requires a great number of different parts and is complex in structure as the communicating member includes a controlling mechanism for controlling the order of fluid communication.
On the other hand, the drug delivery system of JP-U- S63-135642 is small in the number of parts and relatively easy to operate. However, it is required to apply a large external force to the system to communicate the vial with the liquid container. Further, it is required to remove the supporting ring and the double pointed needle from the solvent container after mixing the drug with the solvent to attach an infusion set to the plug of the solvent container. Thus, it is troublesome to handle. Also, there is a fear of leakage of the drug solution since the solvent container must be turned upside down after removal of the double-pointed needle to insert an needle of the infusion set to the plug of the solvent container.